Series One
by Croi
Summary: The first series, novelized. All your origanal faverite characters.
1. Default Chapter

Series 1, episode 1.

This had been a nice neighborhood once.

Upper-middle class, houses set apart, gardens nicely laid out. Some still had toys thrown carelessly around them, toys no one had been quick enough to pick up.

Every so often Mark thought he saw a curtain twitch in the windows as he drove past. People were desperate for any human contact these days, even if it was only to see him drive past, even if he wasn't telling them anything new.

Sighing faintly, he turned on the speakers on top of his car and set the pre-recorded message playing…again.

"Code 1, civil priority, isolation now in effect. To avoid the risk of contamination, please stay indoors and await further instructions. Medical advice will be given. Code 1, civil priority, isolation now in effect. To avoid the risk of contamination, please stay indoors and await further instructions."

He turned at the bottom of the hill, passing no 57, and left the area, heading back to the city. He'd done his duty for today, now he was going home…and a rattle in his chest said he wouldn't be back tomorrow.

Trudy heard the van going by outside but paid it no mind. It had been going past for days now, saying the exact same thing.

On TV the news announcer-Smithson, she thought his name was-was saying much the same thing as the van had.

"Authorities are appealing for calm throughout the evacuation process. All children under the age of 18 years should report to their local sector for transportation."

"You have to go." her mother said quietly.

They'd had this argument several times already. Time was running out now, though, and she _had _to get Trudy to agree.

"But what about you? And Dad" Trudy protested.

"It's too late for us, Trudy." her father said. "You have to accept that. Save yourself, for your mother's sake." Voice breaking, he finished "And mine."

_Oh, Trudy. _he thought._ Too young for this, my dear. Seventeen…still a baby, really._

"No…" Trudy whispered through her tears.

_"No!"_


	2. chapter Two

Chapter two

_"Save yourself…"_

_"No!"_

Trudy bolted awake, sitting upright and looking about wildly. For just a second she thought _all a dream…_then she saw the sitting room, cluttered and dirty after being lived in for weeks, and remembered everything.

The door tipped behind her as Bray came back from wherever he'd been. "Hey…" he dropped his bag, sitting beside her. "What is it?"

"I had the dream again. Mom, Dad, they were there, here, in the house, like it was yesterday."

In her memory, the TV reporter continued, "_Priority will be given to those children exposed to adults already contaminated._"

"I didn't want to go." Trudy murmured. "I didn't want to leave them. But there was nothing I could do."

"Trudy," he made her look at him, "there was nothing anybody could do. Come on, we'd better go. The Roosters are moving in, we're not safe here." Bray urged gently. He'd been trying to get her to leave for weeks now, but Trudy was clinging fiercely to her old life. The Roosters, though, were fierce, vicious, and-enjoyed-catching girls. They _had_ to leave, now.

"We're not safe anywhere." Trudy protested.

"In Sector 10, we may have a chance. Trudy, I heard there were only strays and nomads. We've got to get through."

Trudy shook her head violently. "I don't want to go back there-Locos!"

"We've got to at least try, there isn't much time."

* * *

Sirens rang through the city.

The sound wasn't uncommon any more, but where once it had meant protection it now meant trouble. Some of the Locos…the major tribe in the city…had jacked some police cars and used them to travel, capturing slaves and trashing anything they felt like.

A young girl looked carefully from side to side, making sure no one was in sight before she crossed the road.

Further along the street and just out of sight, Amber and Dal were skating for their lives.

"They're getting closer! What do we do?" Dal panted.

"We can't outrun them, we'll just have to get out of sight." Amber glanced around, searching for a hiding place.

_Of all the things we didn't need…Locos on a power trip!_

* * *

Although she was visibly tiring, Trudy was keeping up with Bray as they walked towards the city. Trudy's house wasn't that far out, but they had to take the long way around, far out of their way, to avoid Demon Dog territory.

Bray stopped suddenly, catching Trudy's arm warningly. Voices drifted up from beneath them, and the pair shared apprehensive glances before hurrying into the undergrowth at the side of the road.

Three Roosters wandered by, shoving each other idly as they walked.

"Come on, hurry up." one of them ordered. "We haven't got all day."

Bray and Trudy crouched motionless until they'd passed. Once he was sure they were safe, Bray helped Trudy up and they continued towards the city.

* * *

"Here!" With relief, Amber poured on the speed, heading for a tiny alcove. She sailed into it, pushing off the wall and turning to pull some rubbish in front of their makeshift hiding place. She and Dal ducked, remaining silent and still as the Locos rode by.

"What are the gangs doing here?" Dal murmured

"Sunday afternoon drive?" Amber suggested dryly.

"Is it Sunday?"

"Who knows?…Get down!"

Amber's eyes narrowed as she watched. Zoot, leader of the Locos, and Ebony, his…whatever she was…were standing in the car, holding on to the skylight and watching the streets around them. Neither noticed the two still figures, and the car continued around the corner and out of sight.

"Can't have been chasing us after all." Dal commented.

"Unless they're toying with us." Amber reminded him. "Locos do that. They love to catch you off guard."

* * *

The train yard in sector 10 was not somewhere any sane person wanted to be alone. The Locos had claimed it early on and no one disputed their claim.

So Glenn couldn't figure out why they were there.

"Where is he? Lex? Maybe we got it wrong? I mean, are you sure this is the meeting place? Or maybe we got the wrong time? These guys don't wear watches you know!"

Much as Glenn loved Zandra, she did babble an awful lot.

"Quiet." Lex had little patience for her on his best days, and this was far from his best day. "I'm thinking."

"Yeah Zandra, let the man think. He can't think, he can't come up with one of his brilliant plans!" Glenn mocked him.

"I don't like it here. Out in the open? Anything could happen!" Zandra was panicking, as she always did when they went outside.

_Why did Lex bring her again?_ Glenn thought irritably.

"Shut up the both of you. Zoot'll keep his word." Lex insisted.

"Where is he then? Legendary leader of the Locos." Glenn scoffed.

"You heard the sirens." Lex said shortly.

"Siren! That could have been anyone. Could have been the Demon Dogz, this is their patch…the Roosters? Any of the Tribes, this sector's a war zone!"

"The whole city's a war zone, if you hadn't noticed."

Yup. Definitely not one of his better days.

* * *

They were almost there, and Bray was starting to look out for somewhere he could leave Trudy to rest. She hadn't complained, but she was getting tired, lagging behind him.

Voices from ahead caught their attention and he paused, watching carefully.

Two kids had caught a pig, somewhere, and were fattening it up for later. They were teasing it now, and Bray and Trudy, moving very carefully, managed to slip past behind them.

"Come on Porky, eat up! Then we'll barbecue you!" Obviously this passed for high wit, as the two guards laughed appreciatively. "Get some more meat on you! You want more? Good. Tasty, tasty!"

Bray and Trudy kept going, hoping the guards wouldn't turn around. Luckily, the pig proved more interesting and they passed without being seen.

* * *

The Locos cruised past again.

"If we could steal their wheels…" Dal murmured. "We'd be out of the city in an hour."

Amber relaxed slightly as the car went out of sight again. "Forget it. They've got lookouts everywhere, we wouldn't get more than a couple…"

She broke off as a child walked past. The girl was watching for the Locos, but she didn't see Dal and Amber in their hiding place. "Dal, look…they're sure to pick her up!"

She paused just within their field of view, looking around confusedly. Whatever she'd been following seemed to have disappeared.

"What's she doing out here on her own?" Amber said, almost to herself.

The child bent, scooping up a small cat. She rubbed it gently, settling it in her arms, and then looked around again.

"She's a stray." Dal said.

"Are we talking about the cat or the girl?" Amber asked, but there was no anger in her tone; Dal wasn't cruel, just practical, and they could barely take care of themselves…

"You know the rule, Amber. Look after No 1."

"Yeah. Well there's always an exception to the rule."

She hopped the boxes, skating out and catching the girl's arm before she could pull away. "Here, come here. Come on, hurry up. Come on."

She tugged the girl into a doorway, crouching behind some rubbish as the Loco's siren came nearer again.

"Here, pussy pussy…" the girl called. Amber clapped a hand over her mouth, ducking as the Locos sailed by again before finally giving up and heading away.

* * *

They'd finally reached the city. Bray heaved a mental sigh of relief; he'd underestimated how long this journey would take and now it was dangerously close to nightfall.

Still, they were only in the outskirts, and it wasn't safe here; but sector ten was almost directly across the city from here, and he knew Trudy was too tired to make it now.

"It's not far now." he encouraged her. "Come on. If we keep going, we could take shelter in the city by nightfall."

Trudy smiled faintly, too tired to actually answer, and they went on.

* * *

Sirens rang again, and Glenn pushed off the wall of the old train car. "They're coming."

"What's the matter Glen? Aren't getting _scared,_ are ya?" Lex mocked him.

"I wanna know what _you've_ agreed with Zoot." Glenn answered.

"What do you mean?" Zandra demanded. Being outside was really messing with her sense of perspective, Glenn noted absently.

"Don't be stupid, Zandra. You really think we're gonna be allowed to join the Locos just like that?" Glenn shook his head. "Now I'll tell you what's gonna happen. Old Lex here, he'll be in the tribe, you can bet your life. The rest of us might not be so lucky."

Lex didn't bother to protest the claim. "Anyone who doesn't like the plan can leave, now."

"And how far would I get before I was hunted down by the Locos? Along with you and stupid here." Glen demanded, gesturing to the fourth member of their group.

Lex launched himself at Glenn, shoving him back against the wall. Glenn struggled, trying to get leverage to shove the bigger boy away.

"Stop it!" Zandra yelled. "Ryan, do something!"

Ryan looked up from where he was sitting cross-legged but before he could intervene…before he could even decide who to intervene _for_…Zoot's car pulled up and he and Ebony jumped to the ground, surrounded by guards.

Lex shoved Glenn away, flicking his jacket irritably. "They're here."

"I thought you said they'd be alone?" Zandra protested. At least twenty Locos had followed Zoot in and were now ranged in a wide semi-circle.

"Welcoming committee?" Glenn asked mockingly.

"They don't look very welcoming to me." Zandra backed towards Ryan.

"I'll do the talking." Lex swung down out of the car, scooping up the bag that had been at his feet the whole time.

"Suits me." Glenn muttered.

Ryan rose to his feet, towering over the others, and jumped down after Lex.

"Not getting scared, are you?" Glenn asked, seeing Lex falter. The other boy snarled softly and continued towards Zoot, shadowed by Ryan.

Zoot was a tall boy with odd, almost dead white eyes. He wore makeup like slashes across his face. Ebony, beside him, echoed his makeup, but on her dark skin it looked quite different.

"Zoot, I was starting to think you weren't coming. Guess time keeping's not your thing ey?" Zoot just stared. Lex forged ahead. "Yeah, me neither. Time's dead, it's the old way. We make the rules now, right?"

For all Zoot reacted, he might not have heard any of the speech. "What's in the bag?"

"Glad you asked, friend, glad you asked. Walkie talkies, CD players, batteries, you name it."

"Food?" Zoot demanded.

Lex frowned. "We only have enough for our…"

"Give it to me!" Zoot demanded. The Loco next to him snatched the small bag of food from Ryan, retreating back beside Zoot immediately. "Why do you want to be a Locust?"

"You guys are the best outfit around. You cut it, you're really…" he trailed off, glancing questioningly at Ryan.

"What? We're really what?" Ebony demanded.

Lex looked around desperately. Nearby graffiti caught his eye.

"Scandalous!" he blurted. "You're scandalous."

"We're what?" For a moment, Zoot almost looked surprised; then it passed and he laughed.

It wasn't a particularly pleasant sound, even when the rest of the Locos joined in.

Lex leaned closer to Ryan. "Get ready to run!"

On the last word he spun, dashing back past the car the others were still waiting in. Ryan, startled, swung his backpack at the nearest Loco, bowling him over, and followed Lex. Zandra and Glenn darted through the car, jumping down at the other end.

"Get them!" Zoot yelled. "After them!"

The Locos swarmed.

* * *

Amber swallowed a sigh. This was not going well.

"It's all right, we're not going to hurt you." she said for the _n_th time. "What's your name? I'm Amber and this is Dal. We're friends. Do you have anyone? Any family? Brothers and sisters?"

The girl she'd rescued, a dark-skinned, dark-haired child of maybe nine or ten, just stared at her.

"She doesn't understand." Dal said. "Let's just go."

"She needs help." Amber said firmly.

"We all need help. That's the way things are. I'm sorry Amber. But we decided that we were going to leave the city by nightfall. Nothing was going to change that. You said it. How are we going to do that with this thing tagging along?" He looked disinterestedly at the child.

Amber shook her head. _He's not cruel. He's just practical, _she reminded herself. He was right, besides; she should leave the child here, she knew it. They simply couldn't scavenge enough to support anyone else, never mind the extra risk. The smart thing would be to leave the girl here.

_No one ever accused me of being too smart._

"I bet I know his name." She gestured to the stuffed animal in the girl's arms. "Teddy, right? What about you?"

The girl considered her for a moment before saying decisively, "Cloe."

"What are you doing out here, Cloe?"

"Playing."

"Can we play?"

"If you like. But there's no room on the swings. Patsy and Paul are hogging them. There's a slide! You could play on that."

"Yeah. Yeah, maybe I will." Amber agreed. To Dal, she added, "You'll have to go on without me. I can't leave her, Dal."

Unspoken went the words, _she's too trusting by half. She's not safe._

"That's Ok. We've come this far together." Dal said reluctantly.

All three headed away.


End file.
